Nissan and Renault reported strong unit-sales gains in first half

For the first six months of 2010, European customers were in full support of Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA. In fact, these two carmakers are among the big winners in European sales for this period. Driven by the strong demand for the Qashqai crossover, Nissan's six-month volume increased by 32.4% to 211,821, according to data from industry association ACEA.

In particular, Nissan's year-on-year Qashqai sales rose by 35% in June to 23,852. For the first half, Nissan sold 117,270 Qashqais, a 56% increase from the 75,122 units sold in Europe for the same period last year. In a statement, Bernard Loire, Nissan's vice president of European sales operations, said that Qashqai volumes continue to increase.

He also said that the Juke's arrival boosts the Nissan crossover family with over 15,000 pre-orders in one month. ACEA's data indicate that Renault's half-year sales went up by 20.7% to 643,370 units.

With regards to Renault, its low-cost Dacia brand posted a 19.1% gain in sales through June to 139,643 units. Renault sales are pushed up by demand for the Megane compact and Scenic minivan while the Duster SUV is improving Dacia's sales.

When the alliance partners figures are combined, it shows that they had a 13.3% share of the European market in the first half, up from 10.9% in the first half of last year.

In comparison, PSA/Peugeot-Citroen SA (Europe's second-largest automaker) had a 13.7% European market share while Volkswagen AG's seven-brand group has a 21% share, taking the top spot.

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